Hey guys! I know that most of us are already planning next season but the season is coming to an end next Saturday with the Dragons Bowl and - at least for me and punch drunk - there is something to fight for.

I was thinking about writing down some lines to talk about this season. Some nice stories to highlight. Who have surprised us? Who may have underperformed? And most importantly: which teams should we aware next season?

Surprise, surprise!

First, let us talk about the good surprises of the season. Moraira Moors, Blakedown Bolts, Budapest Janitors and Rio Stars were probably the most surprising teams. Why? Let us talk about each one.

Moraira Moors - The team won Dragons 2 on S39 and went to really though NC North on S40. The team finished at last on their division being slammed by all other divisional opponents with a 0-6 record. But the scenario was completely different on S41, even with the Jackalopes joining it. The Moors won the division title with a 4-2 divisional record and achieved seed number 2 and a bye on playoffs. Unfortunately, they had to face the Jackalopes a third time and lost again, ending their season. Who could have expected such a campaign?

Blakedown Bolts - This is the type of story that may look a bit sad from one perspective but very positive from another point of view. In their first season on Dragons 1 (after an unusual promotion) nothing more than fighting against the relegation was expected. And it really seemed to be the focus after the first 7 games and a 2-5 record. But everything changed. With an incredible 8 win streak the Bolts were on position to secure a playoff berth on the last regular season game. Nobody expected that the streak would be broken in the last game. But, by a minimal margin, their dream faded away in a 20-19 loss. But we all recognize the effort and great performance on the second half of the season. In my humble opinion: it was a victorious season!

Budapest Janitors - Their story started from Bolts decepetion as they grabbed the playoff spot on PD. It was already a cool story - especially because of the decisive MOTY win over Rio Stars - but nothing really surprising. But things got hot in Budapest during the playoffs. The number 6 seed of NC won by one point on WC after a controversial call of Saints (it was not only the Packers) and a missed 26-yd FG on 1 and 10 with 0:54 on the clock. Then, on divisional round, they faced number one seed and divisional opponent Mulheim Seahawks that have beaten than twice. But the third encounter was really different and they achieved a surprising Conference Championship spot. All the magic vanished when they faced the Jackalopes but story was already written.

Rio Stars - I am a bit uncomfortable to write about myself but I can not deny it was a surprising season. Okay, my team was not weak but certainly it was not among the favorites at the start of the season. An incredible 13-3 record granted a bye on playoffs for the first time. The goal was to win the first playoff game on D1 but it was not easy. The divisional match against France 2018 was really tight and with last quarter comeback the Stars won by one point. AC Championship was against another experienced team but at the end it was an easier game than predicted against the Bandits and the Elite spot confirmed. Who could have predicted it?


Only that?!

If some teams have surprised us and had a bright campaign, we would imagine that other teams underperformed or could have done slightly more. Olympic Wildcats, Penisula Pirates and Oregon Pioneers went bot during this season and may be included here. But who else?

Underachieving Steamrollers - The name already indicates the trend. The team decided to make a deep rebuild and ended with a 0-16 record. For a team that went to playoffs 2 seasons ago it was clearly a underperformance.

BA Patoruzues & Óbudai Egyetem - I decided to highlight both NC North teams in one topic because the expectations were high from me. After a great S40 with a 12-4 record for both and playoff berth, these divisional rivals was expected to put on a great confrontation against Jackalopes and the rest of the NC contenders. But things went to the opposite way and none of them were capable of reaching a positive record this time. I think it was a bit disappointing.


Okay, but what about next season?

The Jackalopes and the Stars are promoting while Gardians and Dillos are coming back. We could imagine then that the Elite relegated teams are favorites. But this time it may not be true. Erudite Linstock put on a great regular season but was defeated by the Bandits on divisional round. Both teams may be fighting on a very competitive AC along with France 2018. Panthers, Vipers and Seacrows may surprise as well while it could be cautious to pay attention on Paladins and Coyotes as well.
On NC I am quite interested to see what will happen on North division. I think the Moors can keep their performance but do not know if it will be enough. Torpedos will probably get back to playoffs from the weakened NC East while the Trnava Saints are favorites on South with the Blakedown Bolts pursuing the dream of playoffs. I bet NC West will be a groundbattle for Janitors and Seahawks clash and one of them may reach the Championship match.



That is it guys! What you think? Give me your impressions!

Good Rewiev ;p

I think my 14:2 Record was pretty surprising too But my schedule was pretty weak i think. Mabye it will be harder next season.

I am a bit afraid of the black mambas joining our Divison. Because they are the Number 1 Seed in Dragon 2 and the Oregon Pioniers where 32. So maybe our Divsion could get a lot harder.
Im not sure how it works for the Dragon 2 Teams who join our league. Is it random who gets in which division or does the Nr1 team gets the 32 spot?

No metter what my goal for next Season is to go to Playoffs again. Even Budapest dumped me in Playoffs.

For the Rest. I dont know how good the Amadilos come out of the Elite Season their stats dont look that good. So maybe they have trouble to go back to elite in 1 Season.
When they join the NC North i think they will have Problems.
Otherwise the Guardins would make this Divison even harder.

For NC
I think the East Divsion should be pretty onesided.
North and South are pretty close together. I'm not sure who can get the Title Spot. Maybe it's time for my friend from the Steelers to come out on top against the Saints. ;P

My Division depens on who comes from Div 2. Mambas would be dificult. Otherwise it'll be a battle between Budapest and me.

And the AC is full of strong Teams.

Nice Review

Thanks for the wishes Feras I also hope do get things done for next Season. My Team looks very good but i struggle with a Playbook which can bring my Team on the Road for more victorys

But it is a tough League and a hard competition for all of us.

Best wishes for everyone next Season and also good luck for the new Elite Members

Great review indeed!

I have to add that this was the first season, since I'm part of Dragons 1, where I had serious competition for the division and truthfully, I wasn't really prepared for it and it showed.

What really changed though is that this newfound competition finally pushed me enough to start adjusting the PBs that I was just too lazy to do properly for seasons. I indeed lucked into the playoffs, then lucked the wild card game as well, but as the saying goes "good teams are the lucky ones".

For the future, I really hope that we will have enough strong teams in NC to compete with AC, on a generic power level.

When I finished the post I realized that I have forgot you! It was also a surprise but I think that the shocking defeat against ChoadW and all his story made me forget it. A 14-2 was pretty solid and deserves to be mentioned! Sorry for this fault.